[user104658]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

And maybe she feels guilty for not bothering, so her mind is creating a posthumous connection to compensate for the lack of a living one.

I don't even think it's "not bothering" - they may once have been close but watching someone descend into addiction is painful and terrible, separating from it emotionally is often inevitable and when they're gone, yes, it comes with a TONNE of guilt. My mum descended into severe alcoholism when I was in my late teens, and was dead before I was 30 - so really at the specific age range where I was in no way cut out to deal with any of it, and focussed on my own life. I still went to visit her, but not very often. I still took her calls and talked to her, but I was never the one to call. When someone is gone and you have a few years of hindsight, it's hard not to feel guilty... or at least, regretful about "what ifs".